“Is everyone ready? All equipment, rations, and potions accounted for?” Alistair called out, looking over the group arranged before him.

At the voiced affirmatives, Alistair continued, “anyone need to run to the bathroom? Grab a snack?”

“We’re good, mom!” Anya teased with a wolfish grin.

“You shouldn’t be talking. Remind me who it was last semester who got ten minutes into a dungeon before she needed to find a private little corner?” Alistair asked the wolf girl with a teasing smirk. Anya wasn’t one to be easily embarrassed, and her grin only widened.

“I have an excitable bladder. What can I say?” Anya shot back.

“You have an excitable everything,” Liliana corrected with an easy smile. Far too easy, so easy to fake, to pretend, to laugh, to make her eyes light up, to make her lips split exactly the correct amount, to leave her body loose and relaxed even when it felt like there were threats all around.

Liliana looked to Emyr, who held her gaze for a moment and she took in a breath. She wasn’t alone. As long as she could remember that, she could manage this… deceit. This lie.

Gods, she’d have to fight beside her friends again. She’d have to run into danger with people she no longer knew if she could trust to watch her back. This was a terrible idea. A truly, astronomically horrible idea. Her worst yet, by far. But she couldn’t back out. Not now. That would be far too suspicious, and they couldn’t do anything abnormal.

They couldn’t chance the traitor becoming wary, not until they knew who it was for sure. They’d be left too vulnerable in that scenario. Right now they were playing a game where they couldn’t see half the board. If they messed up, if she messed up, they’d lose even that small bit of advantage they had by knowing there was a traitor while the traitor didn’t know they knew.

Liliana felt steel filling her spine. She had to do this. She had her task. It was so simple. Just act normal. Like she didn’t know one of her friends had already betrayed her, betrayed all of them. Act as if one of her friends wasn’t right this second, possibly planning to slip a blade into her back.

“Don’t worry, Lili. We might not have Mari, but we’ve managed without her before.” Diana murmured as she sidled up closer to Liliana.

Almost instantly, she felt herself relaxing next to the other girl. Diana always had this air about her that was just soothing to be around. She never caused drama, or started arguments, and often when Liliana felt overwhelmed by her more vivacious friends, she’d find herself sitting with Diana in the library, or in her dorm room just… existing. Not talking, or debating, or discussing anything. Just reading at the same time or working on their homework, not even speaking for hours.

Liliana treasured those moments. They were some of the only times where she felt utterly free of the responsibilities that so often weighed her down.

“What gave me away?” Liliana asked wryly, mentally going over her mask. Where had she slipped up? She was certain she’d performed everything perfectly.

“You’re keeping your hand on the dagger at your hip. You only do that when you’re nervous,” Diana pointed out and Liliana blinked, immediately dropping her left hand. How irritating, she didn’t realize she had that tell. That was dangerous. She wasn’t paying enough attention.

“It’s alright, I doubt anyone else noticed. You tend to grab your weapons for a lot of reasons,” Diana comforted her, sensing Liliana’s disgust with herself for letting such an obvious weakness show. She was better than that. She had to be better than that.

“Its just all this stress from the assignments. I keep expecting some new horrible emergency to pop up.” Liliana covered her slip up easily. After all, she had ample reason for nerves and stress that had nothing to do with a traitor.

She’d been acting jumpy and irritable all term because of the increased frequency of distress beacons. All of them were unsettled. Part of the reason for the dungeon was for it to be a stress reliever. Nothing calmed the nerves quite like violence. Perhaps they were all a little twisted, that murdering monsters provided them with relief. Or maybe it was because anyone who reached the levels they did was perhaps slightly addicted to the feeling of leveling up. Nothing could quite match that experience.

Diana leaned towards her, voice dropping into a whisper. “If you only look for the worst, you’ll always find it, Lili. That’s why you should look for the positives. They tend to pop up when you’re looking for them, too.” Diana smiled up at her, sky blue eyes bright and happy. Free of the shadows Liliana knew darkened her own. She often envied the other girl for her ability to always see the light, when Liliana felt she could only ever see darkness.

“Why, just today I saw the most beautiful flower. It was a deep, jewel blue. Exactly like your eyes,” Diana continued, smiling dreamily, like she was imagining said flower and reveling in the memory of such a simple beauty.

Liliana shook her head, a fond not fake smile slipping onto her face, “I doubt a flower is going to improve my mood, Di.” Yet, despite her words, Liliana could feel her body truly relaxing, some of the stress slipping free. She attributed it to the simple magic that was nothing more than Diana herself. Just by existing, Diana seemed to bring light into the world.

“Well, you’ll never know if you don’t try, now will you?” Diana challenged, and Liliana snorted out a small laugh.

“I can’t argue with that,” Liliana confessed, and was rewarded with a dazzling display of pearly white teeth and sparkling blue eyes.

“Of course not. I am rather logical. I’ll have you know,” Diana informed her, affecting an almost perfectly posh accent to her words. She’d spent far too much time around nobles. They were infecting her.

“You’re something, that’s for sure.” Liliana teased. Diana stuck her tongue out at her playfully, but they settled down when Alistair called for them to enter the dungeon.

Diana fell back and Liliana approached the front, falling in slightly behind and to the right of Alistair. She always ran vanguard in dungeons. She was the most proficient physical fighter they had. Anya was on Alistair’s left, as the only other one of the group that could reasonably tank she had to stay near the front, in case Alistair needed help to manage the aggro he drew. Koth’talan took the rearguard position, and that left Diana, Emyr and Corbin in the center, as both their long and wide range damage dealers, and their mixed support.

They had a well-balanced team, even without Marianne or Liliana’s bonds. Seven people were within the recommended party size and they had a good range of class types. Most importantly, they had a tank, physical damage dealers, magical damage dealers and support which were all necessary for dungeons. Miss any of those positions and your party was doomed to fail, if you were lucky. Death was far more likely than simple failure. And in this world, there was no returning to a previous save.

Alistair handed off their time slot allocation to the guards at the entrance to the dungeon. They’d be down there for sixteen hours, not as long as they wanted, but getting permission for full or multiple days was difficult even for fourth years. Though it had been hinted that for their final exam, they’d be dropped in a dungeon for an entire week. Upper years had always been tightlipped about their final exams, and the professors even more so. Liliana honestly thought the professors started some of the rumors about the finals, just to add to the nerves. Probably under a thin guise of a lesson in ‘proper information gathering’ or some such nonsense to hide their secret sadistic qualities.

Wonderful. So much time around Emyr was making her into a conspiracy theorist. She needed new friends.

As they passed through the ornate gate that marked the entrance to this dungeon, Liliana summoned her swords, hands shifting to better hold her naginata in case she needed to use it soon. They likely wouldn’t run into anything for at least twenty minutes, but occasionally dungeons would throw something out almost instantly.

“What’s this dungeon’s theme, again?” Corbin asked after several minutes of silence as they walked through what could be a castle. Dungeons had the most interesting interior decorating habits. There were skulls hung on the wall, fire in their mouths that lit the path, and other skeletal decor scattered about.

“Man-eaters,” Alistair responded, frowning at a sculpture made of bones coated in something red that Liliana hoped wasn’t blood. He prodded it with his sword for a moment, as if waiting for a trap to spring. Nothing happened, but he still shot the sculpture a suspicious look as they passed it by.

“Red Caps should be our first encounters,” Liliana chimed in, partially in warning.

Red Caps were swarming creatures about the size of goblins, but far more vicious. Faster by far, as well. They attacked in packs of no smaller than thirty at a time, using bones, allegedly from previous victims, as their weapons. They had razor-sharp teeth that they wouldn’t hesitate to use to strip flesh from the body.

“Sometimes, I miss the bug dungeon from first and second year,” Corbin whined and Liliana shuddered in memory.

The centipede and millipede like creatures had haunted her nightmares for months, and then when they got further in, they’d discovered a colony of Arachnelines, which were giant spiders with the top half being a feline. They were vicious ambush predators, and while Liliana was not afraid of them, Marianne had nearly broken down multiple times. Liliana would’ve considered bonding one if her friend hadn’t threatened mutilation if she even tried.

“Rumor is the boss is a Manticore, so do with that what you will.” Liliana tossed in, and Corbin made a despairing noise.

“After the Red Caps, we should see Kappas, then Bauks and Minotaurs.” Liliana continued, ignoring Corbin, who seemed to be having a moment.

Marianne wouldn’t be upset if she bonded a Manticore, would she? They were a little… terrifying, with their tendency to croon while eating people. But they were also a large cat. The fear factor of bonding one could work in her favor as well. Like psychological warfare.

Then again, there was the stigma attached to anyone who bonded a man-eater.

There was a reason this specific dungeon was restricted to fourth years only, and even then one had to get special permission from a professor to enter it. Many beasts would target humans, if given a chance, as any opportunistic predator would. But few preyed exclusively on humans. The creatures in this dungeon were the kind that would seek out humans to hunt, even ignoring other prey in favor of humans.

“Vampires?” Emyr asked, and Liliana frowned, thinking. They hadn’t scouted further than the Minotaur boss before, and she knew there were at least twenty levels in this dungeon.

“Possibly, after the Minotaurs, they’re man-eaters too, exclusively living off human blood and Mana.” Liliana said slowly.

Much like Werewolves in this world were not the same as the myths from Earth, Vampires differed, too. They were vaguely humanoid, but they had extra joints in each of their fingers, and long, needle like claws and teeth. Their limbs were longer than a human’s too, and they had the pallor of a corpse. They had a type of natural allure, and supernaturally beautiful faces used to draw in prey. They were technically related to Sirens and Lamias both. Technically speaking, they were either the result of a coupling between a Siren and a Lamia, or were created by ambient Mana if both creatures existed in an area.

This dungeon, unlike ones of lower ranks, stuck to a more fluid theme rather than an element. Red Caps were Water, Life, Earth and Blood creatures. Kappas were Water, Earth, Dark, Muck and sometimes Acid creatures. Bauks were Dark, Earth, Soul, Shadow and Control creatures. Minotaurs could be Earth, Fire, Light, Wind, with Sand, Lava or Crystal. Since the creatures varied so much, having multiple affinities in a group was essential to making it through, as this dungeon demanded adaptability.

Liliana paused, and around her the others froze. Her eyes narrowed as she heard a sound again, like claws on stone. [Bestial Instincts] was shivering and [Perception] was sending anxious waves through her.

“Red Caps, at the edge of my range for [Perception].” Liliana warned. The group immediately closed ranks, all hints of joviality gone as they started walking again.

They were all staying quiet, stretching their senses as far as they could now that they knew a threat was imminent. Liliana’s blades swirled around their heads as she looked around the dark corners, where the light of the fires didn’t reach.

The sound of claws on stone got closer and Liliana shot Alistair a look. He nodded, and his skin glowed as he walked. Others activated their own skills, and Liliana let the skills and spells from her Set Up combo wash over her. She activated other skills and spells manually to augment herself.

[Radiant Rhythm] breathed power into the area around her, settling onto her skin and on those around her until there was a subtle sparkle on them all. [Dance of The Zephyr] made her steps lighter as the urge to move filled her. [Dance Of The Heaven’s Domain] shimmered in the surrounding air. As more and more skills and spells stacked, Liliana could feel the power and strength humming below her skin, the magic making her shimmer as she moved.

“Incoming,” Liliana warned, as the scratching and skittering reached a new peak.

She could hear a chittering noise, interspersed with words as her boon tried to translate, but it seemed the Red Caps were mostly making noise to make noise, not to communicate. Likely to inspire fear, most man-eaters had an almost instinctive ability to cause fear in humans.

“Positions,” Alistair called out, and Liliana slipped to his side and stepped back, waiting for the first wave to hit and for Alistair to grab their attention before she entered the fray.

With swarm creatures it was more important than ever to ensure the tank grabbed the aggro, otherwise she’d risk being torn to shreds. Alistair could handle being swarmed with his defensive skills and seemingly bottomless well of Health. She couldn’t.

Ahead of them the hallway turned sharply and as the sounds of the Recaps approached, echoing through the wide halls and vaulted roof, Liliana could feel anticipation and fear thick in the air. The first Redcap appeared around the corner, looking like some demented garden gnome, its bloody cap dripping viscous red liquid over its face. Seeing them, it let out a high-pitched screeching cry, showing off its long, fanged teeth. Its screech was echoed by many voices, the sound bouncing and building to a crescendo around them, setting Liliana’s teeth on edge.

“Hold,” Alistair called out as the Recaps poured towards them.

Red Cap

Age: 2

Level: 197

Creatures with a vicious and all-encompassing hunger for human flesh. Their favorite prey are children, luring them into forests to consume. They are known to keep their prey alive for days at a time, slowly eating them alive.

Rank: 4

Health: 2,500

Mana: 4,300

Stamina: 14,590

Highest Affinity: Earth 74%

Highest Stat: Endurance 1,459

Liliana dismissed the window in front of her, not surprised by what she saw. Swarm creatures rarely had high Health as a rule, usually it was their Mana or Stamina that was high as compensation. Most commonly, Stamina as swarm creatures liked to exhaust their prey.

As the Red Caps got within range, Alistair let out a booming shout. Liliana could see the wave of it crash into the Red Caps, stunning the swarm for a moment before it whipped them into a frenzy. Screeches filled the air as the entire horde of them focused on Alistair, murder in their beady little eyes. The rest of the team might as well have been invisible, for all the Red Caps noticed them.

The wave of Red Caps crashed onto Alistair, hitting a nearly invisible wall that lit up brightly each time one of them struck it. They were scrambling over each other, whaling on the wall. Their Strength must be fairly high, because Liliana could hear the impacts, a dull boom like muted thunder that echoed through the dungeon.

“Melee fighters,” Alistair called out, and Liliana moved.

She could hear Anya whooping as she dived in, could see small bodies flying in her peripherals, but she kept her focus on her own side of the fight. Her blades cut swathes through the Red Caps, sheering through distracted bodies like butter as they shone in the light. Liliana waded into the thick of it, her naginata a spinning blur around her as she left Red Caps bleeding, broken or dead in her wake.

“Mages,” Alistair called out next as his first shield shattered into a haze of glittering light. Another shout sent a ripple through the Red Caps, refocusing some of the attention he’d lost when Anya and Liliana had started to attack. Had he waited to do that, he would’ve lost the majority of the aggro with the mages’ attacks.

Earth shook and stones rained down from above, shadows snapping and grabbing and tearing. Liliana dodged around attacks from their mages as a haunting melody trickled through the air. She could feel her hits striking with more power, cleaving Red Caps in half with each stroke of her blades.

She sheared her way through the Red Caps and turned when there were no more in front of her to kill. Behind her there were only stragglers left, Anya happily pounding them into the ground while Alistair stood tall, retaining their focus. Diana was directing bricks through small clusters and Emyr was ripping them to shreds with some odd, blender-like shadow construct. Koth’talan was swiping through several Red Caps that had managed to circle their group easily enough.

Liliana rejoined the fight, and together they quickly dispatched the remaining Red Caps.

“That was easy,” Corbin remarked when the last Red Cap was dealt with, poking a sharp toothed head with his boot.

“Swarm creatures are generally rather weak. They’re dangerous if you’re alone, but in a group with a good tank, they’re easy. You could easily kill an entire colony of Red Caps with one decent tank and a strong fighter or mage.” Liliana said with a shrug. Red Caps were terrifying creatures, but only if you faced them alone, as their swarms were so large it was easy to get overwhelmed. But if you took away that single advantage, they were nothing more than vermin.

“The biggest danger for a group like ours is if they manage to surprise us before I can get their aggro,” Alistair added in as he pulled out a skinning knife.

The only thing useful from Red Caps was their core, which could be sold for several gold each. From a dungeon or not, there was always someone who would pay for Red Cap cores, if only to continue to incentivize adventurers to kill them. Their tendency to hunt and kill children made them almost universally despised.

Liliana started to rip cores out of Red Caps. “Kappas are similar, but more dangerous as they prefer water hunting, which makes it harder to see them before they strike.” Liliana continued in a conversational tone as she completed her bloody task, immune to the gore around her by now.

She’d killed and skinned too many things to be so easily disgusted. Sometimes she wondered when she’d lost that bit of innocence, and could never think of a specific day where the overwhelming scent and taste of copper coating her throat and airways had stopped making her stomach roil.

“I almost wish we’d convinced Jasper to join us. Water creatures are so easy with him,” Diana sighed wistfully. She grimaced at the Red Cap she was taking a core from, going green. Liliana shooed her away.

Diana still struggled with dressing kills, even if killing most things had become easier. As long as they didn’t look too human. The vampires, if they were in this dungeon and if they reached them, would likely be difficult for her.

“But where’s the fun in that?” Anya asked, not even using a knife to get the core out of her Red Caps, just shoving her hands into their chests with brute strength and pulling the cores out.

“Were you dropped on your head as a child, and that’s why ‘dangerous’ and ‘fun’ are synonymous words for you?” Corbin asked Anya, looking at her with interest. Anya stuck her tongue out at the bird beastman and threw a mangled corpse at him.

Corbin squawked, scrambling away. “You almost got guts on my clothes! Do you know how hard it is to get blood out of clothing?” He demanded, quickly brushing over his clothes with panicked hands as he looked for a single speck of blood or viscera on him.

“Lili actually has this potion she made that gets blood out of clothes, she supplies it to me often since it impossible to avoid in dungeons, I’ve found it even gets it out of silk,” Emyr said as he wandered over to Corbin, for a moment forgetting his animosity in favor of one of his favorite topics, clothing.

Liliana and Alistair shared a look, lips quirking up in amusement. Both of them liked to dress well, but didn’t truly care that much about cloths, cuts and specific embroidery patterns used. Emyr, however, could write an entire dissertation on the values and detriments of different types of cloth.

Liliana had, at one time, thought Alistair would know everything there was to know about fashion. He often liked to dress up, and could at times resemble a peacock given human form. She’d only found out later that it was a result of Emyr, who was obsessed with fashion. He picked out almost all of Alistair’s clothes, and because wearing them made Emyr happy, Alistair would dress up.

At this point, most of her own wardrobe was from Emyr. Every few months, he would drag her and Alistair out to go clothes shopping and force them to stand for hours in some tailor’s shop. Almost always while Emyr held long, and occasionally heated, discussions with the tailors.

She and Alistair had picked up some things through sheer proximity, but she still wasn’t sure what the difference between Gadrian and Alfein silk was, really. She’d asked Emyr, once, and never would again. His obsession with clothing was similar to her fascination with beasts, though, so she could understand in an abstract way.

It paired nicely with his enchanting, as he could imbue clothes with different properties, and it was one of his many projects, though his personal sewing ability left much to be desired. Liliana still wasn’t sure if the most recent present he’d given her was a scarf, a cloak, or a very odd shirt. Perhaps all three?

“Everyone ready?” Alistair asked when it looked like most of the Red Caps had been separated from their cores.

Liliana cast a quick [Cleanse] to remove the blood coating her hands and arms like long gloves, sighing when the sticky sensation was gone. Various sounds of assent were heard and Alistair nodded, waving them on to continue deeper into the dungeon.